Marie DaRe, 68, a retired Garden Grove nurse, sued the United Domestic Workers Union and State Controller Betty Yee in June 2017 with the help of the Freedom Foundation, a conservative litigation group. She says the union has not allowed her to opt out of paying fees to be represented in collective bargaining. DaRe, who cares for her disabled brother, is paid by Medi-Cal, a government program for In-Home Supportive Services workers. For administrative reasons, the union allows members to opt out only during a limited annual window. (Photo by Margot Roosevelt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In August of last year, Marie DaRe, a retired Garden Grove nurse who cares for her neurologically-impaired brother, joined a union that represents homecare workers for the elderly and disabled.

But a month later, after watching television programs that highlighted organized labor’s political spending, DaRe, 68, changed her mind.

Now she says, the United Domestic Workers, which handles collective bargaining for 97,000 California caregivers, won’t let her opt out. And the state, which pays homecare workers through Medi-Cal, still deducts $29.50 in monthly fees from her paycheck.

“I had never put it together that unions could fund a political PAC,” said DaRe. “I don’t care if it is Democrats or Republicans—I don’t like it. I’m an independent.”

Last month the Freedom Foundation, an Olympia, Wash.-based group that has fought to curb union membership and funding in its home state, filed suit in federal district court in Santa Ana against the U.D.W. and State Controller Betty Yee on DaRe’s behalf.

The union, according to the complaint, is “violating the First Amendment…by continuing to deduct fees from her paycheck.” DaRe seeks punitive damages and the return of her money.

The foundation, a self-described “think-and-action tank” staffed by former Republican Party consultants and corporate lobbyists, had opened an Orange County office earlier this year and had sent out a statewide fundraising appeal claiming that unions have spent millions to elect “liberal Democrats.”

And the foundation said it would seek California plaintiffs for anti-union litigation.

The DaRe suit is the latest broadside in a decades-long drive by G.O.P. officials, libertarian advocates and corporate-funded foundations to weaken labor unions. If it makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court, it will face a reconstituted conservative majority with the recent appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch.

In 2013, a similar suit brought by an Orange County teacher, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, sought to exempt public employees from requirements they pay fees to cover their share of collective bargaining costs.

Although public employees cannot be forced to join a union, pay dues or contribute to political activities, they currently must pay fees to cover union expenses in negotiating their salaries and benefits.

The DaRe suit could strengthen a current exception to the fee-paying requirement.

The U.D.W. does not dispute the rights of DaRe or other members to opt out, but it limits the opting out to an annual 10-day window around the anniversary of the worker’s sign up.

The union contends the restriction is for “administrative” simplicity, much as health insurance companies limit opt-out times. DaRe, who first mailed her opt-out paperwork last September, will be eligible to stop the deduction of her fees next month under the UDW policy.

Limited opt-out times, however, could be outlawed if the courts decide the practice violates DaRe’s rights.

A spokeswoman for State Controller Betty Yee said she had yet to be served with the complaint, but added “Generally, any lawsuit regarding payroll deductions names the State Controller in her ministerial capacity as the government dispersing entity.”

However, he said “The lawsuit is just one of many tactics being employed by the Freedom Foundation to disempower caregivers… Their union has fought back against dangerous cuts to home care, and recent victories include overtime pay and paid sick leave for our members.

“Why is a billionaire-backed organization going after our workers?” he added. “What does that say about the Freedom Foundation’s values?”

The Foundation, while describing itself as “a frankly political operation,” declines to disclose donors to its $4 million annual budget, a common practice under IRS rules for foundations deemed “educational.”

However the Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive research group, has identified many of its principal contributors, including Donor’s Trust, the State Policy Network and the American Legislative Exchange Council, as closely tied to oil tycoons Charles and David Koch, along with the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, a backer of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s high-profile efforts to constrict public employee unions.

The program was created in 1973 under then-Gov. Ronald Reagan as part of a national push to help the elderly and people with disabilities remain at home, rather than move to more expensive nursing homes and institutions.

However, IHSS worker pay and services were cut by both Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown during and after the great recession to balance state budgets.

The U.D.W. fought against the cuts with lawsuits, large demonstrations in Sacramento, Los Angeles and other cities and successfully lobbied for more federal and state funding.

DaRe said the union representative who signed her up “lied” by telling her she could opt out at any time. Despite writing letters and calling the union’s office to opt out, she said, no one explained to her how the UDW spent the fees she paid beyond vague statements such as “Who will fight for you if you drop out?”

Margot Roosevelt covers economic news. She has been a staff reporter at The Orange County Register since 2012. Before that, she was on staff at the Los Angeles Times, covering environmental news. Earlier jobs: Congressional reporter for the Washington Post; foreign and national correspondent for Time Magazine.

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